Module 10
Presentation using visual aids
What’s inside
• Presenting Professional Scientific
Presentation using visual aids
DESIGNING THE PRESENTATION
There is no secret to developing an effective presentation:
These are the essential ingredients
1. Establishing your objectives,
2. Planning and organizing your material,
3. Using appropriate visual aids.
By establishing your objectives first, you can prepare material that
supports each objective. The use of visual aids will move you further
along toward your objectives by illustrating and emphasizing your
ideas more effectively than words alone.
As you start to design your presentation, you must ask
yourself, "What do I want to accomplish by making this
presentation?"
Establishing the Objectives
For any successful presentation, you must know your
objectives. It is these objectives that drive your
presentation and move the audience to your end goals.
Your end goals may be that the attendees take a
particular action, adopt a new perspective, or respond to
facts and information. Establishing these goals requires
careful planning. The key to designing your presentation
is determining these objectives. After all, they become
the foundation upon which your content, organization,
and visual aids are built.
Establishing the objectives for your presentation requires
an analysis of your own goals, as well as your
audience's needs and expectations.
Establishing the Objectives
By considering the nature of your audience, you can more
easily determine what you will present and how you will
present it. An audience analysis will enable you to:
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Select appropriate points of emphasis in your presentation
Develop a useful level of detail
Choose and prepare appropriate visual aids
Create a tone that is sensitive to your audience's
circumstance
• Your presentation will ideally form a bridge between
something you have and your audience wants. Let the
audience analysis influence the form of information
presented so you can create this bridge.
Using Visual Aids Effectively
The key to a strong presentation isn't the equipment you
use. You should be able to do your presentation on a
blank stage, with no props, and have it work on its
own. The whole idea of visual aids is to enhance your
presentation, not to be the purpose of it. The absolutely
worst presenters are those who use the equipment as a
crutch. For example, those who stand up before a group
and just read slides during a presentation.
It is very important that you follow the rules of using
visual aids to have a successful presentation.
Using Visual Aids
• Tips on Preparing Visual Aids
Start with at least a rough outline of the goal and major points of
the presentation before selecting the visual aid(s). For example, a
particular scene or slides may trigger ideas for the presentation,
providing the power of images. Do not proceed too far without first
determining what you want to accomplish, what your audience
wants to gain, and what the physical setting requires.
• Each element of an audio-visual product - a single slide or a page
of a flip chart presentation, for example, - must be simple and
contain only one message. Placing more than one message on a
single image confuses the audience and diminishes the potential
impact of visual media. Keep visual aids BRIEF.
• Determine the difference between what you will say and what
the visual aid will show. Do not read straight from your visuals.
• Ask the audience to read or listen, not both; visual aids should
not provide reading material while you talk. Rather, use them to
illustrate or highlight your points.
Using Visual Aids
• Give participants paper copies of various graphic aids used in
your presentation. They will be able to write on the paper copies and
have them for future reference.
• Assess your cost constraints. An overhead transparency
presentation can always be used in a formal environment if 35 mm
slides are too expensive.
• Account for production time in your planning and selection
process. Slides must be developed, videotape edited - you do not
want to back yourself against a wall because the visuals are not
ready. You can often get production work done in 24-48 hours, but it
is much more expensive than work that is done on an extended
schedule.
• Use local photographs and examples when discussing general
problems and issues. While a general problem concerning welding
safety, for example, may elude someone, illustrating with a system
in use at the site can bring the issue home.
• Use charts and graphs to support the presentation of numerical
information.
• Develop sketches and drawings to convey various designs and
plans.
Using Visual Aids
• When preparing graphics, make sure they are not too crowded in
detail. Do no over-use color. See that line detail, letters, and
symbols are bold enough to be seen from the back of the room.
• Do not use visual aids for persuasive statements, qualifying
remarks, emotional appeals, or any type of rhetorical statement.
• If you have handouts, don't let them become a distraction
during the presentation. They should provide reinforcement following
your address. Consider giving them out after the presentation,
unless the audience will use them during the presentation or will
need to review them in advance of the presentation.
• Practice presenting the full program using graphic materials so
you are familiar with their use and order. If you use audio-visual
materials, practice working with them and the equipment to get the
timing down right.
• Seek feedback on the clarity of your visuals and do so early
enough to allow yourself time to make needed adjustments.
Tips on using LCD/Overhead
Projectors
Before Presentations:
1. Make sure the plug reaches the socket. It is a good idea
to carry an extension cord
2. Put the projector at a height that is comfortable for you.
3. Make sure the lens is dust free.
4. Put the projector on a vibration free base.
5. Arrange the electric cord so no one will trip over it.
6. Focus and center the picture on the screen beforehand.
7. Never assume projectors will work. Have a backup
strategy ready. (handouts, disk/USB drive)
General Issues
During Presentations:
1. Make sure you are not blocking anyone's view when
presenting.
2. Darken the room appropriately by blocking out sunshine
and dimming nearby lights.
3. (OHP) Turn the screen off between slides if you are
going to talk for more than two minutes.
4. No one should be farther from the screen than six times
the width of the image.
5. Talk to the audience, not to the screen.
6. Use a pointer to emphasize points, don't use it as a
crutch and don't wave it wildly.
Checklist
1) Use visuals when they will
help your audience
2) To make visuals effective,
use them to:
• focus the audience’s attention
• reinforce the key components of
your verbal message
• stimulate and maintain interest
• illustrate complex concepts that
are difficult to visualize
• aid the audience’s
comprehension
• increase retention
• Avoid using them to:
• impress your audience with
overlydetailed text, charts, or
animations
• avoid information overload
• limit interaction with your
audience
• present simple ideas that are
easilystated verbally
• serve as your cue cards
Select appropriate visual aids
and equipment
REMEMBER
Elaborate does not necessarily mean effective. It can be
tempting to spend more time preparing visual aids than
presentation content. The result may be insubstantial
and distracting – and the higher the technology, the more
things can go wrong. The following tips will help you
choose appropriate visual aids and equipment:
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consider giving your audience context via a handout
before the presentation
have a “plan B” visual aid: bulbs burn out, screens
fall down, and computers crash
Consider this
• PowerPoint pros:
• potentially
inexpensive
• attractive designs
• smooth transitions
between slides
• possible to
add/subtract material
• (parts of charts,
graphs) from slides
• PowerPoint cons:
• complicated
equipment required
• hassle to set up
• special effects often
distracting
• time-consuming to
prepare except
• for experienced users
Interact with your audience
3) make sure YOU remain their focus
Presenters may be tempted to hide behind (or lose
themselves in) their visual aids. It is important to
maintain contact with your audience and remember
that you, not your visual aids, are giving the
presentation. At best, visual aids are an accessory –
you should remain the centre of attention. The
following tips will help:
• remember to ask questions, stimulate discussions, and use other
interactive methods as appropriate
• maintain eye contact with your audience
• watch out for facial cues of boredom, confusion, falling behind,etc.
• remember that visual aids are aids for your audience: lecture
notes are aids for you